The submission by the Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo (SAN) on the Supreme Court judgement of Wednesday, July 28, 2021 that narrowly upheld the election of Ondo governor, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) in a suit filed by candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his major opponent in the 2020 governorship election in the state, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) and how such might might affect the APC especially it regards the scheduled nationwide congresses has elucidated counter submissions from Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and former representative of Rivers South-East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe.
TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo (SAN) had in a statement on Wednesday urged the party to shelve its planned congresses and national convention to avoid a ‘top to bottom’ destruction from the judiciary.
However, the party in a statement on Thursday said the congresses will go as scheduled.
In their separate reactions on Thursday, Omo-Agege and Abe explained that the Supreme Court judgement Jegede vs Akeredolu’s case have does not in anyway implied that a Governor cannot serve as Chairman of any Committee in a political party of which he is a member.
They both urged the party to go ahead with the nationwide congresses as scheduled without fear of legal battles as implied in some quarters.
Read their submissions below:
LEGAL OPINION ON THE JUDGMENT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA IN JEGEDE V. AKEREDOLU AND THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 183 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AS IT AFFECTS THE APC SCHEDULED CONGRESSES NATIONWIDE
Yesterday, Wednesday 28th, July, 2021, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment dismissing the appeal initiated by Eyitayo Jegede against the election of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu. Surprisingly, mischief makers for obviously nefarious intensions, resort to misinterpret the said judgment vis-a-vis the purport of section 183 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as it affects the APC Congresses scheduled for Saturday.
Without much ado, it is important to state that the majority decision of the Supreme Court in Jegede’s case, emphatically dismissed the appeal and did not consider the issue of the provisions of Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, neither did the majority decision make any comments on the competence of Governor Mai Mala Bumi as the Chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee. The appeal was dismissed on the ground of competence or lack thereof for the non-joinder of a necessary party to the suit at the lower court.
It is therefore disingenuous, unsound and mischievous to attempt to misinform the reading public of what was not the ratio decidendi of the judgment of the court. Even if the apex court had considered the provisions of Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, the majority panel would still have dismissed the appeal.
Having established the above point, it is necessary to proceed to clear the gross misconception of the provisions of section 183 of the 1999 Constitution.
The sole question that begs for consideration is whether the appointment of Governor Mai Mala Bumi as the APC Caretaker Committee Chairman offends the provisions of Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended)?
In answering the above question, it is pertinent to reproduce the provisions of Section 183 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) as follows:
“The governor shall not, during the period when he holds office, hold any other executive office or paid employment in any capacity whatsoever.”
In view of the foregoing constitutional provisions, the question becomes: Is the appointment of a Governor to Chair a Caretaker COMMITTEE of his political party, same not being an ‘Executive Office’ in respect of which he is to be paid remuneration, incompetent? Can it be said that a State Governor who is the Chairman of the Governors Forum of Nigeria is occupying an “Executive office”? Can it also be argued that the President cannot be appointed as the Chairman of Africa Union?
From the explicit provision of Section 183 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), it is absolutely impossible and untenable to argue that the provisions of Section 183 bars a Governor from being a Chairman or member of a Caretaker Committee set up by his or her political party. More so, the position of the Chairman of a Caretaker Committee cannot by any sense of imagination, logic or simple common sense be classified as a being a salaried Executive office.
It is important at this point to restate the fact, that the Caretaker Committee was duly constituted by the NEC of the party and given a specific mandate to put necessary measures in place to conduct a seamless elective National Convention.
There is no law under our legal jurisprudence that bars or prohibits a Governor who is a member of a political party and won elections under the political party from carrying out specific assignments on-behalf of his party. How this will amount to holding an Executive office is beyond every stretch of human comprehension.
In the light of the foregoing exposition, it is humbly and firmly stated that *Section 183 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) only bars a Governor from holding Executive positions like being a Minister, or any other executive positions for which he shall be paid for. It does not by any scintilla of imagination, render the appointment of Governor Bumi as APC Caretaker Committee Chairman incompetent and will not in anyway, affect the legality or competence of the APC scheduled Congresses.
Senator Ovie Omo-Agege
Deputy President of the Senate & Obarisi of Urhoboland
JEGEDE VS. AKEREDOLU: LET’S THREAD CAUTIOUSLY, ABE TELLS KEYAMO, OTHERS
…As self-immolation is not an option for APC
Former representative of Rivers South-East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, has appealed to Barrister Festus Keyamo, SAN, and APC party faithful to thread carefully and cautiously as there is nothing in the Supreme Court Judgement in Jegede Vs. Akeredolu that implies that a Governor cannot serve as Chairman of any Committee in a political party of which he is a member.
Abe, in a statement he personally signed and posted on his Facebook account titled: “NO KEYAMO: SELF IMMOLATION IS NOT THE OPTION FOR APC,” stated that the Buni-led caretaker committee in the determined effort to reposition the party has adjusted the seating arrangements in a lot of states and this may explain the stand that some party leaders will take on this issue. But it is important that we deal with facts and the law.
The statement reads in parts: “I was taken aback when my attention was drawn to a statement making the rounds on social media credited to my learned friend, Festus Keyamo, SAN, the Hon. Minister of State for Labour, demanding that our party the, All Progressives Congress (APC) must immediately halt all preparations for the forthcoming congresses and disband the Governor Mai Mala Buni – led National Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC).
“Keyamo’s argument is premised on his interpretation of the judgement of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Jegede Vs Akeredolu.
Most members of the APC accepted the reality of the CECPC as a decision of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the APC with Mr. President as leader of the party in attendance.
Party leaders who had reservations about the constitution of the CECPC were informed that the decision to establish the committee was reached only after extensive legal examination of the issues confronting the APC at that time by a body of eminent lawyers in leadership positions in the APC. Barrister Festus Keyamo, I am given to understand, was one of those legal luminaries whose stand swayed the President in support of the CECPC option as the only means to save our party from imminent self-destruction. That is why I was taken aback by the quick and sudden volte-face of Mr. Keyamo in the face o fJegede vs. Akeredolu.
There is a popular saying that sometimes “where you stand on an issue is determined by where you sit”.
The Buni-led caretaker committee in the determined effort to reposition the party and carry out its difficult assignment, has adjusted the seating arrangements in a lot of States and this may explain the stand that some party leaders will take on this issue. But it is important that we deal with facts and the law.
The Supreme Court (according to Keyamo’s write-up) held that Buni was not a party to the case and so his status was not determined in the case of Jegede Vs. Akeredolu.
It is therefore shocking that any legal practitioner will on the basis of that judgement reach the conclusion that the Supreme Court has already decided that chairmanship of a committee constituted by the National Executive Committee of a political party constitutes paid employment or an executive position as stated in section 183 of the constitution.
Almost every convention committee or caretaker committee of every political party in this country that is privileged to have a governor in its fold has been chaired by a Governor, almost every primary election that produced our governorship candidates have been chaired by a Governor.
A decision by the Supreme Court that chairmanship of a committee constituted by NEC for a particular purpose can constitute an executive position or paid employment as envisaged by the constitution of Nigeria must be a matter of evidence, and it will have grave consequences not only for the APC but the entire polity.
The convention planning committee is a committee of NEC. Buni was not appointed as executive chairman of the APC, he is our Convention Committee Chairman but because the Working Committee of the party was dissolved by NEC, the caretaker members are to take care of the affairs of the party on behalf of NEC until an Executive Chairman is elected by convention.
This was carefully spelt out in the NEC resolutions that gave birth to CECPC.
These documents and others pertaining to Buni, and his lack of remuneration and activities will be evidence before any judicial proceedings to determine the status of the Buni-led Caretaker Committee.
Any member of the party who is emboldened by Barrister Keyamo’s interpretation of Jegede Vs. Akeredolu to challenge the legality of the caretaker arrangement of our party on that basis may do so, but the litigant will of course bear the burden of proof, and the party should be ready to defend its own position based on the evidence.
With all due respect to my learned friend, Festus Keyamo, SAN, he was merely second guessing the Supreme Court when he gave the impression or suggested, based on his understanding and interpretation of the said judgement, that any legal challenge against Buni, must succeed, no matter the circumstances of the challenge, insisting that mere joining Governor Buni will be enough for any litigation against the APC to succeed.
This is simply incorrect. No two cases are the same. The Supreme Court itself wisely declined to make a pronouncement against Buni on the ground that he was not joined and not heard.
To now conclude that whatever he would say when heard would not amount to anything as judgement must be passed against him is to overlook the age-long admonition of the same Supreme Court itself in the 1987 case of Lawrence V. Nnaife that “justice and fairness demand that the ratio of any case should not be pulled by the hair of the head and made Willy-nilly to apply where the surrounding circumstances are different”.
Since the surrounding circumstances have not been made known to the Supreme Court for which it rightly declined to condemn Buni unheard, it’s preposterous to second-guess the Supreme Court on that.
Let’s tread carefully, cautiously. Instead of throwing away the baby with the bathwater, and causing a stampede, let’s all support the Caretaker to the point that it births a proper executive council to prepare us for the future, especially the 2023 elections.
In the meantime we must consider our position carefully. We are less than two years away from the 2023 general elections, we have dissolved all our party structures across the States, we are less than a week away from the beginning of congresses to usher in our new Working Committee.
It has taken us almost a year to get to this point, there is no guarantee that an attempt to start a new experiment at this point will not result in a political or legal quagmire that will lead to an implosion in the APC.
There is no perfect arrangement in politics. The best course open to the APC is for our leaders to give full support and cooperation to the CECPC to conclude its assignment and usher in a new elected executive for the party.
Let me add for the record that there are issues in the party. Even the registration and revalidation exercise promised by the party in Rivers State has not been carried out and once again members of the APC in Rivers State are being denied forms for participation in our congresses, but problems within the party need to be dealt with”.
To this end, Abe maintained that to throw out the CECPC at this point may amount to self-immolation from which we may not recover as a political party”.
In conclusion, the Senator added: “we must be steadfast and stay the course, there is nothing in the Supreme Court Judgement in Jegede Vs. Akeredolu that implies that a Governor cannot serve as Chairman of any committee in a political party of which he is a member. The APC CECPC remains on firm ground”.